Briefs

 

The Bank of Thailand yesterday appointed three assistant governors, effective October 1.

The three executives are Ruchukorn Siriyodhin, in charge of financial institutions, Chantavarn Sucharitakul, in charge of financial markets, and Nawaporn Maharagkaga, in charge of the internal audit group.

Sammitr budgets Bt1 bn for pickup plant

Sammitr Green Power Co, a subsidiary of Sammitr Manufacturing, has budgeted Bt1 billion to build a new plant for its range of CNG (natural-gas-powered) pickups on 10 rai (1.6 hectares) on Bang Na-Trat Road.

The plant will have capacity to produce 2,500 units a month and will start to operate next year, managing director Surayut Bhosirisuk said.

The company’s plant in Bang Khae has capacity to produce 1,000 units a month.

"We are expanding our production capacity to support the growth in demand when the Asean Economic Community comes into effect in 2015," he said.

GSB backs industrial estate dyke project

Government Savings Bank will sign a contract today to provide a soft loan of Bt3.5 billion to the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) to build flood barriers at six estates hit by major inundation last year.

The loan will have a 0.01-per-cent interest rate with a five-year grace period and 15-year repayment term.

The flood barriers will be built in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani provinces. Construction will be put out to tender next month by e-auction and will be targeted for completion next June, IEAT governor Viraphong Chaiphem said.

SCB customers can open accounts online

Siam Commercial Bank is offering real-time deposit-account openings through SCB Easy Net, its Internet banking channel. SCB Easy Net users can conveniently open savings, fixed-deposit, or long-term deposit accounts at www.scbeasy.com, said first executive vice president Rungruang Sukkirdkijpiboon.

Customers can rest assured with high security standards and optional services such as SMS alerts for withdrawals from their deposit accounts, Rungruang said. SCB plans to offer the service on smart-phone applications in the near future as well.

SCB has seen constant growth of 20 per cent annually in its SCB Easy Net customer base, and there are currently more than 1.5 million users.

KTB launches product for elderly

Krung Thai Bank is launching a new deposit product with flexible conditions and high interest to attract elderly customers, said Chanarong Eursithichai, senior vice president and manager of KTB’s retail business and network group.

The new product will help ensure that elderly customers have cash when they retire.

It requires a minimum deposit of Bt500,000 to a maximum of Bt5 million with a term of 60 months, during which the bank will pay the same interest rate as its 36-month fixed deposit plus 0.75 per cent per annum, or a total of 4 per cent per annum. It will pay interest at the end of every month. , while the principal will be paid in early month.?? Customers can choose receive minimum principal of Bt5,000 to maximum of Bt20,000 or choose earn interest.

Customers can apply for a KTB Shop Smart Blue Diamond debit card without paying a fee throughout the term of their deposit, and will receive personal accident insurance as well.

The product will be available until February 28.

Office works to cut greenhouse gases

The Agricultural Economics Office is drawing research support in compliance with the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA). Thailand joined the alliance in January 2011.

Apichart Jongsakul, secretary-general of the office, said at a brainstorming session yesterday that this was the first step to prioritise agriculture-related research and establish a research network. Under the GRA, Thailand is committed to reduce agricultural greenhouse gases through a working group.

The agricultural sector is the second-biggest contributor of greenhouse gases after the energy sector. In 2010, emissions totalled 229.08 million tonnes.

Thai ‘Vogue’ coming soon

Serendipity, a new company established by veterans of the magazine industry, yesterday unveiled the Thai version of Vogue.

The first Thai edition of the famous fashion magazine will hit bookshelves in February. Vogue has been published in 20 countries, including six in Asia.

Siri Udomritthiruj, executive director of Serendipity, said it required as much as Bt150 million in investment to bring Vogue to Thailand.

A source in the fashion-magazine industry said several more titles were hitting Thailand, including Numero from France and Dazed & Confused from Britain.

English, Japanese warnings ordered

The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand has instructed Hi-Tech Industrial Estate, one of nine estates inundated last year, to make its flood-warning system available in English and Japanese.

Helping the estate complete emergency plans, IEAT governor Veerapong Chaiperm said all factories would be warned to stay alert when the level of the Chao Phraya River was 4.5.5-1 metres above sea level. When the level exceeds 5.1 metres, an evacuation plan would be expedited.

Renewable energy seminar next week

The Energy Ministry's Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency and the European Union Delegation to Thailand will continue their joint efforts to enhance renewable-energy development with a two-day seminar titled "Renewable Energy Technology Implementation in Thailand: Experience Transfer from Europe".

Scheduled to be held at Dusit Thani Hotel on October 4 and 5, this is the second event in a series of seminars and workshops aiming to share experience and develop expertise of Thai stakeholders in renewable energy, energy-efficiency development, and related issues. Additionally, the event will be a direct follow-up on conclusions and recommendations from the Stakeholder Workshop held on August 15.

The seminar will be divided into five sessions dedicated to the main areas of Thailand’s renewable energy sector – biogas, biomass, solar energy, waste to energy, and wind energy – to cover topics such as public participation in waste-to-energy and biogas programmes, wind-technology standards, solar-power development road maps, and community-level biomass projects.

Interested people can obtain further information on the seminar or confirm attendance online at www.TEC-II.net/online-reg.htm, by calling Pawantee Chotenisakorn at 02 693 1661, or by e-mailing [email protected].

The seminar is organised as part of the Thailand-EU Cooperation Facility Phase II initiative.

AMEX, Dusit offer privileges

Dusit International is partnering with American Express to offer special privileges to cardholders under the American Express Inbound Select Programme.

The AMEX promotion is available from October 1 to February 28 and provides cardholders with a 20-per-cent discount on the Dusit Best Available Rate and a 15-per-cent discount on dining during a stay at all participating hotel restaurants (except bakery and concessionaire outlets). – The Nation